The Railway Ministry has asked the Andhra Pradesh Government to send a proposal relating to its request for a tourist train from Visakhapatnam to Araku and assured Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari that it will be examined in a positive manner.
The assurance was given to her when she met Railway Minister Mukul Roy along with Principal Secretary, AP Tourism, Chandana Khan, on Thursday.
As a short-term measure, a proposal to attach two tourist coaches to the existing train may also be sent, the minister said according to an official release. Ms. Khan said the government would send a proposal within a week.
Ms. Purandeswari hoped for a positive outcome would come in the next one month.
She also raised the issue of long-pending land exchanges with the Railways and wanted it to be expedited as Cabinet approval was not required now and the Railway Ministry could take a decision on its own.
Railway land is required for the progress of Bus Rapid Transit System taken up by the GVMC.
Ms. Purandeswari requested the minister to take a decision on the demand for creation of Waltair zone by seeing to it that the committee that had been constituted by the Railway Minister submitted its report at the earliest for further action.
General Manager of AP Tourism Development Corporation Sumit Singh accompanied the minister and the Tourism secretary.
